A Fallen Star
by gerarg90
Summary: A young man quickly finds that his favorite characters from his favorite manga have been transported to his world and are now living in his house! What kind of mayhem and hilarity will this bring? And what will this young man learn about these people and himself? ErzaxOC (On Hiatus.)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Fallen Stars

**A/N: Hello, Gera here. So..I came up with this fic when I was brainstorming a few ideas for my other story Love and Chaos. The idea stuck around my head for a while, and I figured why not? The plot might not make sense at first, but I'll do my best to make it decent. It's mostly meant to be funny and random in a way, though there will be romance, as well as bonding between the members of Team Natsu and my OC character. Hope you enjoy it. :D**

**Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima.**

* * *

"Well, that was another interesting story." a young man spoke with satisfaction. He had dark brown spiky hair and brown eyes, light-tan skin. He stretched his arms a bit while he sat at his desk, looking at his computer screen. "Hm, maybe I should come up with my own story and post it on FanFiction.." he wondered, when his stomach grumbled. "Ah, well I guess you have other ideas, huh?." As he got up and walked downstairs, he suddenly heard a loud crash coming from outside, as his house shook violently for a few moments. "Que diablos?"

The young man quickly ran outside to find the source of the crash. He waited for a moment for the dust to settle, as he looked at a small crater about forty feet away from his house.

"It's a good thing I live in a secluded area..but what the hell was that? Did a meteorite just land in front of my house?" he asked himself as he scratched his head. After a few moments, he heard voices coming from the crater.

"What the hell just happened?"

"I'm not sure, I was hoping you could tell me."

"Damn it, looks like he got away."

"We were so close too.."

"Where are we? This area doesn't seem familiar to me."

"Humph. Looks like we're lost again."

"Aye!"

_'Aye?' _the young man thought. Were they hanging around the area when that thing landed, he wondered? He waited for a moment until he saw figures of people walking towards his house, their voices much more clearer.

"Hey look, there's someone over at that house!" a young man roared excitedly.

"Hey, he's right. Hello over there!" a young woman spoke. "Can you help us out? We're kinda lost."

The young man squinted his eyes. The sun was going down and it was beginning to get dark. As the figures loomed closer, several things caught his eye. Pink, blue, scarlet and blonde hair quickly stood out to him. But what really got his attention were two cats that were with them, one was blue while the other was white. He wouldn't have thought much of it, were it not for the fact that two cats were talking and walking on two feet, the white one wearing a dress while the blue one had what appeared to be a knapsack on his back.

"No..no f-freaking w-way.." he stuttered as his eyes grew wide.

A pink haired young man wearing a scarf and a vest. A scarlet haired young woman clad in armor. A blue haired petite little girl in a green dress. A shirtless young man with droopy eyes and dark black hair. And to top it all off, a blonde young woman with a whip on the side of her hip.

"We're mages from Fairy Tail!" the pink haired young man said with a grin.

"I really should take a break from reading all those stories.." was all the young man could say before he fell to the ground and passed out.

* * *

"So you're saying is that we're not in Earthland anymore?" Lucy asked.

The young man nodded. "That's right."

"And that in this world, we're famous?" Natsu asked excitedly.

"Mmhmm."

"And some guy somewhere created everything in our world and he owns us?" Gray was suddenly feeling paranoid.

"I'll admit, I'm just as surprised as you guys are." the young man replied, scratching his head.

After regaining consciousness, he realized that the people he saw were really from Fairy Tail, the ones from his favorite manga. The Dragon Slayers Natsu Dragneel and Wendy Marvel. The Queen of Fairies Erza Scarlet. The Ice mage Gray Fullbuster. The Celestial Mage Lucy Heartfilia, and the two Exceeds, Happy and Carla. After casting any further doubt aside, he invited them into his house, where he tried his best to explain their current situation.

"That dark mage we were fighting must have used a spell to transport us here." Erza concluded.

"I'm still a little confused though." Happy admitted.

The young man thought for a moment. "How about this..you've all been to Edolas, right?" they all nodded. "Well, think of this world as an alternate one from those two, or a third parallel world. In this world, there is a theory that points to there being various worlds or dimensions that are layered over one another, like the pages in a book. If you break through one layer, you end up in the next world, break through that layer and you go to the next one and so on."

Lucy thought for a moment. "You know, you're right. It's the same as the celestial world."

"Exactly. Most people don't know if there is another world parallel to theirs. However, if two different worlds do come to know of the other, they can set up some form of communication and even travel between the two worlds. It's very possible. In the case of the Celestial World and Earthland, the celestial keys you posses are their way of traveling to Earthland."

"I still don't get it." Natsu muttered.

"Me either." Gray added.

Erza shook her head. "Please forgive their lack of understanding, they're a bit slow when it comes to thinking."

"**HEY!**" they both yelled.

The young man let out a chuckle. "I know, like I said before, you guys are pretty well-known in this world to a good number of people."

Wendy tilted her head. "Now that you mention it, you did know all of our names despite the fact that we never once set foot in this world."

"I was a little surprised at your knowledge about us and Earthland." Erza commented. "How is it that people here know so much about us?"

The young man pulled out a small book that read '_Fairy Tail Volume 1'_ and showed it to them. "This is how." he replied, handing the book to Natsu.

"Cool, you guys have manga in this world too?" Natsu was getting giddy. He flipped the first page open as the others gathered around him like children about to hear a bedtime story. Their eyes went wide as he continued flipping through the book.

"Was I really that scrawny back then?" Happy felt self-conscious.

"My armor..my face.." Erza was trembling.

"Natsu-san looks the same." Wendy quickly pointed out.

"Lucy looks like she's gained some weig-" was all that Gray could get out before Lucy kicked him in the gut.

Carla shook her head. "Idiot."

"This is pretty freaking awesome!" Natsu yelled as he kept reading through the book.

The young man smiled. Never in a million years would he have thought he'd be able to meet Natsu and his friends. Yet here they were in his living room, laughing together. Suddenly, a thought popped into his head. "That reminds me. How do you guys plan on getting back to your world?"

They all stopped what they were doing and looked at each other, suddenly realizing the naked truth.

"Actually, we don't know how to get back." they all frowned.

"Hm, this might be a problem then."

Erza paused for a moment, then spoke. "I've been wondering, does magic exist in this world?" the scarlet mage asked.

The young man looked down for a moment. "It's hard to say. There's a lot of evidence and rumors that points to magic existing in this world, but I think that probably only one percent of the people in this world can actually use it, maybe even less than that. A great majority of the people here accept the laws of science, which is basically just believing in hard, tangible facts in the world rather than magic and other unexplained occurences. If anyone in this world knows how to use magic, they probably keep themselves well hidden from the rest of the world."

"I see." Erza closed her eyes for a moment to think. "Wait, does that mean we're unable to use magic in this world?"

"I don't know." the young man replied. "Have you tried using your own magic?"

"Requip!" Erza suddenly said, as a blinding light engulfed the room. When the light dissipated, it revealed Erza in her Heaven's Wheel Armor.

"Looks like it worked!" Lucy cheered. "Let me try now. Gate of the Lion, I Open Thee!"

Another blinding light lit the room, before it died down to reveal Leo the Lion. "Princess, where are we? I can sense that we're no longer in Eartland." he said worryingly.

"Its kinda of a long story." she went on to explain about the theory of parallel worlds and how they ended up here.

"Ah, it does make sense when you think about." he responded. "We'll, if you need me, just give me a call Lucy." Leo bid them farewell as he returned to the celestial world. Erza Requipped back into a white blouse and skirt.

"Well, it seems that your keys work regardless of what world you're in." the young man added

"So what do we do in the meantime?" A shirtless Gray asked.

"Hm.." the young man thought for a moment. "I know!" Natsu and the others watched curiously. "You guys can stay here for the time being, until you figure out a way to get back to Earthland."

"Really?" Natsu and Gray both had huge grins.

"Of course." he assured them.

"No, we really shouldn't, we've already troubled you enough as it is." Erza replied. Lucy nodded in agreement.

The young man walked over to the scarlet haired mage and place a hand on her shoulder. "It's no trouble at all, really. You guys need a place to stay, right? Besides, my home is big enough to house all of you, I have several guest rooms upstairs."

"But what about rent?" Lucy asked.

He shook his head. "I built this house myself, so the only thing I really pay for is clothing and groceries."

"Well.." Erza was still unsure, but then she saw Natsu and Gray giving her the 'Puppy Dog Eyes' technique. Even Happy and Wendy were doing it. She looked back at the young man, who was giving her a smile. "A-alright, we'll stay. It's only temporary anyways."

"**ALRIGHT!**" Natsu and Gray cheered while Happy flew around in circles. Lucy sighed and shook her head. Wendy and Carla looked at each other and smiled.

"But on one condition!" she yelled, startling everyone. "Since you're willing to take us in for the time being, it's only fair that all of us pitch in and help with the cooking, groceries and cleaning."

The young man simply smiled. "Deal." then he suddenly realized something. "You know, I got so wound up in our conversation earlier that I didn't even introduce myself properly." he said sheepishly as he scratched his head. "My name is Dante. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Erza couldn't help but smile. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Dante."

"Ah, what a lovely name! It's a pleasure to meet you Dante-san!" Wendy replied, making Dante blush slightly with embarrassment.

"Likewise." Carla added.

"Aye! Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you Dante!" Lucy cheered.

"We're gonna have a blast!" Natsu was getting fired up.

"You got that right." Gray added smirking.

Dante smiled. _'They all look like they're having a good time..'_

"Alright, I call first dibs!" Natsu roared as he ran upstairs, with Happy following close behind.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Gray yelled as he ran after them.

"Haven't you guys ever heard of 'Ladies First'?" Lucy yelled after them.

Wendy giggled while Carla shook her head. "Come one Carla, let's go find a room."

Lucy sighed. "Seriously, those two are always full of energy." Suddenly, something caught her eye. She walked over to a big bookshelf in one corner of the house. "Wow, these are all your books?" the blonde asked, wide-eyed.

"Ah, yes. They're dictionaries and encyclopedias, as well as books about this world's history. You're welcome read them as you like, it might help you understand this world a little better in the meantime."

"Ah, thank you!"

Dante smiled as he made his way to the front door.

"Where are you going Dante?" Erza asked curiously.

"I'm just going for a quick walk outside, I won't be long. Feel free to make yourselves comfortable, The bathroom's upstairs if you want to shower before going to bed." Dante responded, before he proceeded outside.

* * *

Dante was sitting down on top of a hill, staring up at the night sky.

"Today sure was an interesting day.." he said to himself. The wind was blowing quite strongly tonight, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky. "The stars are quite beautiful tonight.."

"You can say that again." a voice came from behind, slightly startling him. Dante turned to see Erza standing a few feet away. "May I?" she asked.

Dante smiled. "Of course." he replied. She walked over and sat down next to him, pulling her knees to her chest.

"The night sky here reminds me a lot of the one in Earthland." Erza began. "They're very similar."

"I'm sure there are a lot of similarities between this world and yours." he added.

They sat there in silence for what felt like an eternity, before Erza decided to break the ice.

"Can I ask you something?" she said suddenly. Dante was a little surprised.

"Of course."

Erza frowned a bit. "Why are you living here by yourself?" she asked. "I-I mean you don't have to answer my question if you don't want, it's really none of my business, its ju-"

"I don't mind Erza." he cut her off. She looked at him as he continued to stare up at the sky. "I guess you can say I'm a little anti-social. I just feel that I don't fit in with society. I don't agree with their ideals and their standards. Or maybe society doesn't agree with me, who knows.."

Erza stared at the ground.

"When I was still living in society, I felt like I was bound to all their rules and standards. I had to act a certain way, dress a certain way. If I didn't do what everyone else did I was not normal, if I didn't treat someone harshly because of their economic status or gender, then I was no better than them. I felt like I was a prisoner in a way. All I really wanted was be who I am, not what they wanted me to be. But I put up with it, I seem to have a nack for patience. But that didn't stop them from using me, hurting me. I felt betrayed so many times, but I couldn't blame any of those people, I blamed myself for being so weak and believing in their words. I felt like an outcast for a while, never fitting in with anyone. I was a stranger in this world."

Erza felt a sudden pain in her chest as her own memories of love and betrayal resurfaced. _'He's a lot like me when I was growing up after leaving that tower..' s_he thought."I know how you feel..the pain, the betreyal..I know it all too well. What about your parents? Did they ever do anything to comfort you?"

There was an awkward silence, as Erza realized that she just crossed into forbidden territory.

"I..never knew my parents..I grew up..without them." Dante replied, his voice laced with pain and loneliness.

Erza suddenly felt sick to her stomach. "I'm so sorry, that was a horrible thing for me to say, there's absolutely no excuse for that, its unforgivable. I'll just go a-" she tried to get up and leave, but Dante suddenly grabbed her arm, catching her by surprise. Erza stared at him for a moment and then sat back down.

"It's okay Erza, you didn't know."

"But I-"

"Erza!" he said sternly, making her flinch. After a few moments, his voice softened. "Its okay. While it is a painful thing to remember, it doesn't bother me as much as you think. Even after everything that's happened to me, I've learned to move on. I learned to _**forgive**_. But more importantly, I learned to forgive _**myself**_. Blaming myself wasn't going to change anything. I stopped blaming myself for everything that's happened to me and accepted everything about me, because in the end what's more important than a heart that forgives is a heart that _**loves**_ all things equally." Dante turned and gave Erza a warm smile. "Living out here, I found the freedom that I've always dreamed of, even if I am alone."

Erza fought back hard to keep her tears from pouring out. His smile was warm and genuine. She could feel all the loneliness and sadness that she felt before was now gone. "O-okay." she managed to choke out. Dante smiled again and looked back up at the sky, staring at all the stars that glowed in the darkness.

"You should learn to forgive yourself too, Erza. Don't be so hard on yourself." he said suddenly. "You are a kind and strong person, stronger than I could ever be." he said humbly.

Erza suddenly felt warmth rushing to her cheeks. She was thankful that it was really dark out that night, or else Dante would have noticed the obvious blush on her face. She looked up at the sky. The stars dotting the sky, millions and millions of them dancing throughout the night.

_'Thank you..'_

* * *

"Were have you two been?" a pajama clad Lucy asked as Dante and Erza returned from their walk. "It's almost midnight! I was getting worried something happened to both of you."

Dante scratched his head. "Sorry about that Lucy, we were talking for a while before we realized how much time had passed." he said sheepishly.

Lucy studied him for a moment before she looked over at Erza. The blonde quickly noticed that the scarlet mage was blushing a bit. Erza immediately realized she was being looked at and gave the Celestial mage a deathly glare, causing the blonde to jump back.

"A-alright, well, since you two are here now, I can go to bed now. Night!" she said nervously as she ran upstairs.

Dante looked over at Erza and raised an eyebrow. "Was that really necessary?"

"Trust me." Erza replied flatly.

"If you insist." he shrugged as he sat down on the couch, closing his eyes.

Erza smiled. "Well, I think I'm going to go to bed as well. Good night Dante." she said, but got no response. "Dante?"

After a few minutes, Dante still didn't respond. Suddenly, he jolted back from his silence. "What? Oh.." he said, scratching his head. "Sorry about that Erza, I dozed off there for a few minutes."

"It's alright." Erza replied with a smile. "I said that I was going to bed." the scarlet mage started making her way to the stairs. Dante suddenly found himself staring at her beautiful figure. When he realized what he was doing, he quickly looked the other way before Erza could notice. She stopped at the base of the stairs and turned around. "Good night Dante."

Dante looked back and blushed a little. "G-good night Erza."

Erza let out a giggle before going upstairs.

_'Wait, did she notice? Crap!'_ he thought frantically. _'Well, at least she didn't beat the crap out of me.'_

Dante sighed and closed his eyes again. After a few hours, his eyes shot open again. "Ugh, what time is it..?" he mumbled as he looked at the clock. "Three in the morning.." He looked around the living room. After a few minutes, Dante heard foot steps coming from the stairs. He looked and saw Wendy standing at the base of the stairs. The petite Dragon Slayer looked a little distraught.

"D-Dante-san?" she asked.

"Is everything alright Wendy?" he replied with his own question.

Wendy frowned and lowered her head. "I can't sleep.."

Dante smiled slightly. "We can talk for a bit if you'd like. I can't sleep either." he motioned her to come sit at the couch.

"O-okay." she said as she walked over to the couch and sat down. They sat their in silence for a few minutes. Wendy twiddle her thumbs trying to think of something to say. She decided to open her mouth to speak, but Dante beat her to it.

"You're home sick, right?" he said as he turned to look at her. "I know that look when I see it." he smiled.

Wendy looked at him, a bit surprised. "Y-yes..you probably think its childish of me to feel like that.." she said looking down at the floor.

Dante shook his head. "Not at all. I think its good that you feel homesick, it means that you truly have a home to go back to."

The petite girl looked up at Dante. She felt a warm feeling inside her, the same feeling she got whenever she looked up to Natsu or Gajeel. It was like she was looking up to an older sibling. A brother. She couldn't help but smile widely.

"I know how you feel..since I can remember, I've always felt like that..I felt a longing to find my true home..somewhere I truly belong.." he frowned a bit. "I still feel that way now."

Wendy could sense that he was a little sad. She frowned, but Dante turned and gave her a reassuring smile. She felt warm again and found really hard to keep frowning as it changed to a smile.

"So, what's it like being in a guild?" he asked suddenly. "I know that those books talk about you guys for the most part, but hearing it from the actual person holds a lot more weight to it than paper does."

"Of course!" Wendy's face lit up with delight as she began telling Dante about the guild and it's members, as well as the adventures she's had with Natsu, Erza and the others. As they continued talking, a silent Erza was watching the two from the stairs. She giggled inwardly. _'They look like brother and sister.'_ she thought. _'This is a good opportunity for Wendy to bond with someone like him. Natsu and Gajeel are like brothers to her too, but they don't spend time with her like this.'_

"Well, they're very talkative this early in the morning." Carla joked, startling the scarlet haired mage.

"Yea, but they seem to be getting along really well." Lucy added this time, almost giving Erza another heart attack.

"Yes, they are." Erza replied. "He's very kind and trustworthy."

"He's very humble too." Lucy chirped. "He's got a good head on his shoulders."

Carla sighed. "He is more mature than Natsu and Gray. I guess I will trust him to watch over Wendy for now." she mused, as she watched Dante and Wendy start laughing.

_'Maybe this is something we all need..' _Erza thought.

Lucy suddenly pointed over to the couch. "Aw, look."

Dante and Wendy had both fallen asleep. Wendy had her arms wrapped around Dante's left arm, cuddling with it. The three of them looked at each other and smiled.

"They really are like brother and sister."

* * *

Morning came and Dante found himself laying down on his couch with a blanket covering him. He yawned a bit as he got up, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"Man, I had the craziest dream last night..I met Natsu, Erza, Wendy, Lucy, Gray, Carla and Happy, and the-" he stopped suddenly. Lucy was sitting on the couch next to him, reading a book on world history. Natsu and Gray had gone through his manga shelf and were now laying on the floor, reading _Bleach_ and _Naruto_, while Happy had somehow turned on the television and was now attentively watching a documentary on the _Discovery Channel_ about ocean life in the Pacific. Dante looked over to the dining room area and saw Wendy and Carla setting plates on the table. "..Were all in my house." he finished flatly.

Wendy suddenly perked up when she saw Dante sitting up. "Good morning Dante-san!" she said with a bright smile.

"Aye, good morning!" Happy chirped, still watching the documentary.

Dante looked at the two rivals on floor reading manga. "**Morning.**" they both mumbled, too absorbed in their respective books to pay attention to anything else.

The young man couldn't help but smile. "Good morning everyone."

"It seems like you slept well." Carla teased.

Lucy peeked up from her book. "Did you have a nice dream?" the blonde asked.

"I guess you can say that." Dante replied, scratching his head. "Where's Erza?"

"She's in the kitchen preparing breakfast." Carla answered.

"Oh God, Erza's cooking?" Lucy suddenly spoke, dropping her book. "We have to stop her!"

"The last time Erza cooked.." Natsu shuddered.

"She even threatened us to get us to eat whatever the hell it was she made that day.." Gray looked like he saw a ghost.

Dante was starting to get a little worried. "Was it really that bad?" he asked. They went on to explain how Natsu couldn't eat anything for weeks, Gray had to get his stomach pumped and Lucy was in a colma for a week after the incident. Now he was really worried. "Oh crap, we gotta stop her!" He quickly ran to the kitchen, skidding to stop. "Erza, I-" he cut off. She was wearing a white blouse, blue skirt and an apron. But that wasn't what caught his attention. Erza's hips were swaying back and forth, and she was waving her hands in the air. She was dancing. _**Erza**_ was dancing. It seemed she found his iPod and earbuds earlier, and was now dancing to one of the songs. Dante couldn't hold it in. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" he roared as he fell on the floor, laughing uncontrallably.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked as the others quickly rushed over to see the commotion. "Wha-"

They all stood their for a moment, taking in the image of the Great Titania swaying her hips back and forth, waving her hands in the air, and (just like Dante) they all fell over on the floor, laughing like lunatics.

"HAHAHA, THAT'S FREAKING AWESOME!" Natsu was roaring with laughter.

Lucy had a hard time breathing. "Hahaha..Erza..haha..she's dancing..hahaha!"

Gray was rolling on the floor laughing, Wendy and Happy were holding each other while pointing at Erza, and even Carla was holding her sides, tears streaming from her eyes. Erza quickly spun around, still dancing with her eyes closed. As soon as she opened them again, she froze as her face turned redder than her scarlet hair, if that was even possible.

"What are you all laughing at!" she screamed with a commanding voice. "This isn't funny!"

They all stopped laughing, except for Dante, who was still snickering.

"I'm..haha..sorry Erza..haha..its just that..haha..I didn't expect to see you..hahaha..dancing in my kitchen like that..hahaha!" he managed to squeeze out.

_'He's a dead man.'_ the others thought as they waited for Erza to bring her wrath upon Dante.

Instead, however, she simply turned around and faced the wall, much to the other's suprise. "W-w-well. everyone have a seat, b-breakfast is r-ready." Erza stuttered. Everyone stood there with their jaws hanging open, except for Dante who had a smile on his face. "Are you all deaf? Take a seat!" she commanded as everyone was suddenly seated at the table in a flash.

"That was..unexpected." Gray finally spoke.

"No kidding, I'm suprised she didn't kill him." Lucy whispered

"I noticed something, when she was looking at us, it was obvious she was angry, but when she looked at Dante, her expression kinda softened.." Carla thought for a moment and then realized something. Lucy caught on.

"Wait, so you're saying that she might li-"

"Alright! Who wants to get served first?" Erza said cheerfully as she came from the kitchen with a large skillet in her hand. All eyes narrowed on Dante. "I guess you're first Dante." she said happily.

"S-sure." he replied, remembering what Natsu and the others told him earlier. _'You can do this Dante, focus.'_

Erza quickly went over and served him a heaping portion of what looked like scramble eggs with some ham mixed in. She went on to serve the others before placing the skillet in the middle of the table for anyone wanting seconds.

_'It looks alright.'_ Dante thought. _'Well, if I die, I'll die a happy man.'_

He took his fork, grabbed a clump of the eggs and then put it in his mouth. Everyone watched in anticipation as Dante began chewing. Erza stared at him as he swallowed the first bite. The others waited, expecting him to keel over any second. To their suprise however, Dante smiled.

"Wow Erza, this is really delicious!" he praised her. Erza's eyes were now filled with stars.

Everyone looked at Dante like he was insane. They each took a look at their plates before grabbing their own forks and taking a bite.

"He's right.." Lucy began. "This is really good!"

"This is fantastic Erza-san!" Wendy cheered before taking another bite.

"Why thank you." Erza replied proudly. "I've been praticing at home for a while now."

Natsu, Gray and Lucy suddenly froze at her statement, wondering what her kitchen must have gone through for her to get to this far.

"You have a seat too Erza." Dante added. "A good cook should always enjoy their own cooking."

Erza suddenly blushed at his compliment. "T-thank you, I will." she replied, sitting in the empty chair next to him. She was about to start eating when she noticed that Happy wasn't. "Is something wrong Happy?" she asked the blue Exceed.

"Aye.." he replied weakly.

"Oh, that's right!" Dante said suddenly, startling everyone. "Excuse me a moment." He got up and went to the kitchen. After a few moments, he came back with a new plate that had six fish stacked on it. He went over to Happy and placed it infront of him, making the blue Exceed perk up with delight.

"Aye! Thank you!" Happy thanked as he began munching on one of the fish.

"It's a good thing I know you like fish, Happy." Dante said with a smile before going back to his own seat.

Erza watched as everyone was enjoying their meal. Natsu and Gray started glaring at each other before begining a mini-food fight between the two of them, flicking pieces of food at each other. Wendy giggled while Lucy and Carla started scolding the two for their antics. Happy, in the meantime, was happily munching away at his third fish. Erza felt warm inside.

"You know, looking at all of us gathered here together, it kinda seems like we're a family." she said, gaining everyone's attention. "Natsu and Gray are the two brothers who always fight.."

"**There's no way I'm related to that guy!**" they both said in sync, pointing at each other.

"Wendy's the youngest sister.." Erza went on, ignoring the other two. "Lucy's the elder sister, and Happy and Carla are our pets."

"We are _**not **_animals!" Carla quickly retorted, while Happy was too busy eating his last fish to really care.

Dante laughed a bit before taking another bite of his food.

"And me and Dante are the mother and father." Erza finished, and then turned to see Dante choking on his food. "Dante!" she yelled.

After struggling for a few seconds, he managed to swallow the lump of food that was stuck in his throat. His face was slightly red. "I-I'm fine, sorry about that."

Erza frowned. "Was it because of what I said? Did it sound bad to you?"

"No, no!" he quickly shook head. "I really like it, it just caught me off-guard was all.." he quickly realized what he was implicating. "I mean it sounds like a good idea! Ah, I mea-" It was too late.

"Oooh, I think someone's in love!" Lucy quickly caught on.

Carla quickly snickered. "Your face is awfully red there Dante, maybe, just maybe.."

Natsu and Gray grinned at each other. "**YOU LIII-**" they were both pegged in the head from a frying pan, courtesy of a reddened Titania.

"_**Anyways**_.." Erza said, making the others pipe down. "Have you guys thought of anything that could help get us back to Earthland?" she asked, doing her best to hide her blushing face from Dante, though he noticed anyways. He smiled and then looked down at his plate, while the others began talking.

_'A family, huh..'_

Dante got up and went over to wash his plate, then went back to the table and pushed his chair in. "Alright, I'm gonna go take a shower, so you guys get ready in the meantime."

They all looked up at him with puzzled expressions on their faces.

"Ready for what?" Erza asked curiously.

Dante smiled. "I'm taking you guys with me to the market today. I need to go pick up some more groceries and a few other items. We can also get you guys some more clothing so you don't have to wear the same ones all the time and get them washed. Plus I think it would be a good experience for all of you."

"Sounds like fun Dante-san!" Wendy squealed.

Lucy's face lit up like a lightbulb. "I can find some books to take with me too!"

"Aye! I can see all the different kinds of fish they have!" Happy chirped happily.

Dante smiled and looked over at Erza. She smiled in return and nodded.

"Awesome!" Natsu yelled. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to my manga, Ichigo's about to show Byakuya his bankai!"

"Me too, Naruto and Sasuke are about to fight seriously now!" Gray and Natsu both ran back to their spots and picked up where they left off in their books. The others just sweat dropped and sighed.

Dante let out a chuckle. "Looks like today's gonna be another interesting day."

* * *

**A/N: After reading over this chapter a few times (and changing a few things here and there) I felt like it's becoming a pretty interesting story so far. I've read a few stories where certain Fairy Tail characters end up traveling to our world and characters from this world end up traveling to Earthland, so I thought 'Why not?' It might not be very original, but it's always something I've thought about since I was a kid watching Dragon Ball Z. I mean come on, we've all thought about how awesome it would be if we could meet these characters in real life. Don't deny it, I can see it in your eyes! But anyways, if you liked this, leave a review, if you didn't like it, leave a review, if it needs something more or needs less of something, leave a review. It's not mandatory, but it helps out a lot in the long run. Welp, see you all next chapter. :3**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Exploring the City

**A/N: Well, it took a while to get this done, but now it's, well..done. Anywho, a recent family incident came up, so I was reluctant to do much of anything for a while with so many things going through my head, and once I had gotten the urge to continue with the chapter, I went through several revisions before I was satisfied. So I apologize to those patiently waiting, and thanks again to all who left me a review. Even it's just one or two, they help A LOT. Welp, without any further ado..enjoy. :D**

**Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima.**

* * *

"Ah, this forest is very beautiful!" Wendy said cheerfully as she walked next Dante. She was holding Carla in her arms. As they continued walking, they saw a small group of deer watching from afar, then heard the cries of an eagle soaring from high above. The young Dragon Slayer couldn't help but feel a little happy yet sad, the forest reminding her of the one that Grandine and her were living in years ago. Natsu was also feeling the same as he too began reminiscing about his adoptive father, Igneel. Dante could sense their slight distress, but decided against saying anything. _'I'm in no position to say anything.'_

"Aye! It's very peaceful here." Happy chirped as he rode on Dante's shoulder. The young man perked up a bit after hearing the blue Exceed's care free attitude.

"It's pretty big too." Lucy commented. "How do you find your way back every time you leave your house?"

The young man pointed to a small river they were now walking along. "The river. As long as I follow this river, I can find my way back home."

Happy began to drool. "There must be a lot of yummy fish in there too."

"There probably is." the young man chuckled.

Natsu was getting a little restless. "How much longer till we get there? I'm itching to see how this city looks like." the dragon slayer replied with anticipation.

"Relax flame brain, we'll get there when we get there." Gray smirked.

"That doesn't even make sense you pervert!" Natsu retorted.

"Oh, you wanna go pal?" the ice mage shot back.

"Fine then!"

Lucy sighed as the two wizards started beating each other senseless. "Maybe we should have left these two at home."

"I think my house would be gone by the time we got back." Dante sweat dropped.

Carla crossed her arms. "Erza's been rather quiet."

They all turned to see Erza, with an iPod in hand and earphones in her ears, listening to some punk-rock music. "She's really taken a liking to that thing."

Dante rubbed his neck. "I'm more curious to know how she figured out how to use it."

"Oh, that was easy, I showed her." Lucy replied. "It wasn't too hard to figure out, it's pretty similar to the music lacrimas from Earthland, just more compact. It seems this world focused exclusively on technology. Some of the inventions I read from your books are pretty amazing. Trains that travel at high speeds, boats that seem to glide on water. They even have ships that have travelled to other nearby planets."

"Oh? I'm impressed you learned that much already." Dante replied. "These two worlds seem to have a lot in common. The only difference being that this world focused on technology, while on Earthland, the focus is magic."

"Maybe there's a connection between the two.." Carla thought for a moment.

They all heard a loud thud as they turned to see the two rivals with their legs sticking out of the ground, having fallen headfirst after climbing trees. The two suddenly popped out of the ground and started arguing immediately. "I made it to the top first!" Natsu roared.

"No way matchstick, I got to the top first."

"You wanna go again?!"

"Fine!"

*THWACK*

The rest of the group watched nervously as Erza started dragging along the unconscious bodies of Natsu and Gray. "Erza-san is scary sometimes.." Wendy spoke. The others simply nodded their heads. They continued walking for a while longer, and before long they began hearing the noises of a bustling city street. Dante quickly stopped the group and gestured Erza to take the earphones off.

"We're here." he announced. "But before we go any further, I need to go over a few things with all of you." Dante said, crossing his arms while the others watched curiously. "The first, and most obvious thing, is magic. It's safe to say using it in public would create a very big problem."

The scarlet mage nodded. "Indeed. Like you mentioned before, most people aren't aware about magic.." Erza added. "If they saw any of us using it, they may get scared and panic."

"Right, it could turn into a disaster very quickly." Dante said. "There will probably be a lot of people who will try to talk with some of you. Just make sure you don't say anything about Fairy Tail, or they may get suspicious. Other than that, speak with them as you would normally."

"R-right!" Wendy tried to say confidently, but inside she was a little nervous.

"Another thing. Happy, Carla, no flying, they'll find it really strange seeing two cats with wings. It would also be a good idea if you two don't talk while we're around a lot of people. They might get a little too curious and start asking a lot of weird questions."

Carla nodded. "I understand."

"Aye!" Happy replied.

Dante smiled. "Good. We'll go in as a group. Try your best not to get separated. It's really easy to get lost in a crowded city that you all aren't familiar with."

Lucy had something on her mind. "What about our names?"

"That's a good question." Dante replied. "I think it would be alright if you tell them just your first names. While not everyone in the world reads _Fairy Tail_, you can never be too careful."

Everyone nodded. "Good, well, now that we're clear, let's get a move on." Dante smirked as he lead the group past one more set of trees before they hit one of the streets in the city.

* * *

The wizards of Fairy Tail were amazed at how big the market area was, some of the streets were blocked off just so people could come set up their shops. There were stands all over the place for as far as they could see, large numbers of people walking around and checking out what each stand had to offer. The wizards thankful that the people themselves didn't seem too different from their Eartland counterparts, though they noted a few exceptions. Primarily the men who wore clothing that seemed several sizes too big for them to wear. Some of them were sagging their pants, revealing their underwear.

"Why are some of those guys wearing their pants like that?" Lucy asked with a disgusted look on her face.

"I've always wondered that myself." Dante sighed. "There are some very..unique people here."

"They seem more like uncivilized beasts to me." Carla whispered to Wendy.

Natsu suddenly caught wind of something that smelled delicious. "FOOD!" the Dragon Slayer roared as he ran off in pursuit of the smell.

"Natsu, wait!" Lucy quickly yelled out, running after him. Erza and Gray followed suit, leaving Dante, Happy, Wendy and Carla behind.

Carla sighed. "Natsu's a beast alright."

"Aye." Happy added in a whisper.

"Do you think they'll be alright?" Wendy asked, looking up at Dante.

"As long as they follow what I've told them, I hope." he replied as they both started walking in their friend's direction. As they went on, the young Dragon Slayer couldn't help but find herself staring in awe and curiosity at what some of the people were selling at their stands. Most of them were selling food and produce, but she also noted that some were selling jewelery and small figurines. One figurine in particular caught her eye as she walked over to the stand, almost entranced by it.

"Wow.." she said softly as she stared at the object. It had three different dragons standing next to each other, one was red, the other was grey and the last one had a metallic look to it. The grey dragon in particular reminded her of Grandine, even though it looked nothing like her adoptive mother.

Carla frowned slightly. The white Exceed knew her partner long enough to know when something reminded Wendy of her dragon. "Wendy.."

"I see you have an eye for dragons." a voice spoke, snapping the young Dragon Slayer from her thoughts. Wendy looked up to see a woman who looked like she was in her thirties with green eyes and long brownish hair. The woman gave her a smile. "Do you like it?"

Wendy quickly nodded. "Yes. It reminds me of someone I knew.." she replied with a sad smile.

The woman studied her for a moment, before she looked up to see Dante standing next to Wendy. The young man put his hand on Wendy's shoulder and smiled. The young girl looked back up at him and gave a more genuine smile. The woman let out a small chuckle, causing the two of them to look back at her. "It really warms my heart seeing an older brother taking care of his younger sister." she mused.

"O-oh, w-we're not related to each other." Wendy stuttered, her face slightly flushed.

The woman looked up at Dante, who nodded. "She's right."

"I see.." the woman thought for a moment, but decided it was better not to pry any further. "Well, are you interested in buying this figurine, young lady?"

"Oh, um, I'd like to, but I don't have any money.." Wendy replied sadly.

Dante let out a chuckle. "I'll buy it for you as a gift." he said.

"N-no! I-t's okay Dante-san, really! It's way too much trouble anyways.." she quickly started flailing one of her arms in the air, making the woman giggle.

"It's no trouble at all, really Wendy! I want to buy it for you." Dante replied with a smile.

The woman couldn't hold herself back anymore. "You're just too cute little miss! What's your name?" the woman asked.

Wendy stopped flailing. "It's Wendy." she answered

"Ah, that's a very cute name. I think it suits you." the woman replied, as she took the figuring and wrapped it up before placing it in a small box.

"How much is it?" Dante asked.

The woman thought for a moment. "It's ten dollars, but I'll make you a deal and give it to you for seven." Dante paid what he owed while the woman handed the box to the young Dragon Slayer.

Wendy just stared at the gift she received before looking back up at the Dante with a huge smile on her face. "T-thank you!" she said with joy.

The woman just smiled as she watched the two interact. "You're welcome Wendy." Dante replied with a grin. "And thank you." he thanked the woman who simply gave him a nod.

"Thank you Ma'am!" the bluenette added.

"Let's go Wendy, we should catch up with the others before they get lost."

Wendy nodded as the two bid the woman farewell before going off in search of the others. As they were walking, Dante quickly realized that he forget to ask the woman her name. He turned, but saw that she was busy with some customers. _'I'll ask her about it next I guess.'_

* * *

"Oi, Natsu, slow down!" Gray panted as he, Erza and Lucy continued to chase after their flaming idiot friend.

"God, this is annoying. Why does he always do this?" Lucy complained as she tried to pace herself.

"Oh, I'll make sure he doesn't run off again.." Erza spoke with a heavy tone that made her two friends shudder. They continued following the yells of people that Natsu was most likely bumping into or knocking over. They started seeing people scattered about on the ground, confirming their suspicions. As they got closer, they came across a huge crowd of people who were gathered around a large table. "Damn it, they're in the way."

As the three wizards continued pushing through the sea of people, they could hear Natsu talking with someone.

"Are you sure about this, young man?" an older man spoke.

"Hell yea, I never back down from a challenge!" Natsu roared.

"Alright then, have a seat."

Erza was the first one to make it through the crowd as she stood there, shocked.

"Did you find Natsu?" Lucy asked as she managed to get through as well, with Gray coming out next. The three of them all stared at what they were watching. There was a table with six people sitting at it, one of them being Natsu. They each had a plate of hot dogs in front of them.

A man in a white suit quickly stood up in front of the crowd, holding up a megaphone. "Alright, it looks like our contestants are all ready for the Sixth Annual Hot Dog eating competition!"

"**EATING COMPETITION?!**" the three wizards croaked.

"The first person to finish six plates of hot dogs will be declared the winner."

As Natsu sat there, anxiously awaiting the signal to start, the other contestants around him couldn't help but snicker at the seemingly unimpressive young man.

"Look how scrawny he is." one of them snickered.

"I bet he'll give up after just two hot dogs." another sneered.

"You're going down Pinky!"

Natsu overheard the other competition and couldn't help but get pumped. "I'M GETTING FIRED UP!" he roared, startling the other contestants while the crowd cheered him on for his competitive spirit.

Lucy turned to Erza and Gray. "Do they even stand a chance against him?"

"Nope." Erza replied confidently.

The man with the shite suit stood up again. "Alright, is everyone ready? On my mark in 3...2...1...GO!"

Before any of other competitors even took a bite, Natsu was already done with half his plate. They stared in shock and disbelief as the Dragon Slayer quickly wolfed down the remaining hot dogs before grabbing another place and continuing stuffing himself. The others quickly attempted to catch up, but to no avail as Natsu was now on his fourth plate. Minutes passed before Natsu reached his last plate, but unbeknowst to him, the man in the white suit had other plans. As the man watched the young man continue, he gave a sly grin. _'That boy's really something, but unfortunately for him, he's not the one who's going home with the gold today..that last plate he has is filled with salsa made from the hottest ingredients in the world. There's no way he's gonna make it through this one.' _He quickly looked at one of the competitors, who nodded. _'It's over boy.'_

Erza quickly noticed the exchange, her eyes fixed on the man.

"He's up to something." Gray quickly pointed out.

Lucy nodded. "Unfortunately, he's going up against a Dragon Slayer."

The man continued watching Natsu, expecting him to writhe in pain from the food, but to his shock the Dragon slayer continued eating until all that was left was the plate. "Whooo, I finished!" Natsu quickly stood up with a grin before the crowd let out a loud cheer. The man stared at the boy in disbelief, his eyes almost popping out of his head. _'Is he some kind of monster?!'_

"How the hell did you do that!" one of the contestants yelled angrily. "There's no way you could have eaten all those hot dogs that fast!"

"Son, were you cheating?" the man with the suit asked him, hoping he could use it as an excuse to disqualify him. Unfortunately for the man, the crowd felt otherwise.

"What do you mean he was cheating? He ate all that food fair and square!" someone protested.

"Yea! He's the winner, no doubt about it!" another argued.

The man was getting nervous as all the people around him where now cheering for the pink haired boy. "PINKY! PINKY! PINKY" he gritted his teeth as they continued chanting for him. Before he could say anything else, he felt someone's grip on his shoulder.

"I really hope you weren't trying to sabotage our friend's chances of winning.." Erza said in a cold tone. The man turned slowly to see the scarlet mage shooting him a glare so fearsome and ferocious that he nearly passed out from sheer shock.

"N-n-n-not at all! I'm sorry for instigating such a thing!" he squeaked in fear. "Looks like the winner is the pink haired mystery youth!" the man roared into the megaphone. The crowd cheered as Natsu jumped down from the stand.

"So what did I win!" he asked excitingly. The man quickly handed him a small stack of green paper. "What's this?" the Dragon Slayer asked curiously.

"Two thousand dollars in cash.." the man grumbled.

Natsu looked questionably at the man. "Dollars?"

"That's the currency that they use here." Lucy answered his question. "According to what I read in one of Dante's books, it's a decent amount."

"Aweso-" Natsu was cut off by a smack to the head from Titania.

"Idiot! Why did you run off?" Erza questioned him sternly.

The Dragon Slayer rubbed his head. "Relax Erza, I smelled food so I got hungry. Couldn't help it."

Gray sighed. "Jeez, you're a pain in the ass..because of you, Wendy, Carla, Happy and Dante got left behind. We're probably lost and they're probably searching everywhere for us."

"You really should think before you run off like that." Lucy scolded.

Natsu mumbled something before the four of them heard a familiar voice. "Dante-san, they're over here!" they heard Wendy shout. They quickly saw the Sky Dragon Slayers's and Exceed's approaching figure before Dante and Happy joined them.

"Thank God you found Natsu." Dante panted, catching his breath. "Did anything happen?"

"I won two thousand dollars apparently." Natsu grumbled flatly.

Dante just stared at the man for a moment. "What happened?"

Erza began to explain that Natsu had joined an eating competition and essential chewed his way to victory, earning her a growl from the pink haired mage. "..That's pretty much how it happened."

Dante grinned. "Well, congrats Natsu, looks like you earned your first few bills in this world."

The other began laughing while Natsu crossed his arms in annoyance.

"Dante!"

They quickly turned after hearing someone shout Dante's name. They saw a small figure wading through the crowds of people before coming into view. A brown-haired girl with blonde highlights and standing average height came running towards the group. She was wearing a pair of black denim shorts and a grey t-shirt with a white rabbit on the front. She looked about Erza's age.

"Dante!" the girl quickly greeted as she came to sudden stop. "I thought I saw you running around."

"Hello Maya. Sorry about that, I was in a hurry to find some friends." Dante apologized sheepishly.

Maya blinked as she stared at the people that he was with. She studied them curiously before smiling. "Hello, nice to meet you all. I'm Maya!"

Lucy was the first to greet her. "Nice to meet you Maya! I'm Lucy." the celestial mage replied with a happy smile.

"Likewise. I'm Erza." Erza said with a softer smile.

"Yo, I'm Gray." the ice mage replied with a smirk, before getting a weird look from the girl. "What?"

"Gray-san, your shirt.." Wendy sweat dropped.

"Oh crap!"

Maya giggled. "It's alright Gray, to be honest you look pretty fine without it.." she said, narrowing her eyes on his abs.

Dante coughed into his hand. "I think we're getting a little off topic here.."

"O-oh, sorry!" the girl replied. She looked over at the pink haired boy, who gave her in grin in return.

"Natsu!" he said cheerfully, but noticed she didn't respond. Suddenly, Maya's cheeks puffed up.

"Hahaha! You have pink hair!" Maya roared with laughter, irritating the pink haired mage.

"What the hell did you say? At least I don't look like someone used my hair as a paint brush!" he retorted.

A vein popped on Maya's head. "What did you say, Pinky?"

"Oh, I think you heard me, walking highlighter!"

Maya and Natsu quickly butted heads, earning them sweat drops from Dante and the others.

'_**They're**** meant for each other.**_'

Wendy quickly walked up next to the brunette. "Um..I'm Wendy!" she said, bowing.

Maya and Natsu stopped their glaring match. "Aw, you're so cute Wendy! It's a pleasure to meet you!" Maya replied with a big grin.

"Hm.." Dante thought for a moment before an idea struck him. "Now that I think about it, it's a good thing you ran into us. I have a favor to ask."

The brunette quickly lit up, her cheeks slightly red. "I'd love to be your girl, Dante!"

There was an awkward silence as everyone stared at her blankly.

"Uh, that's not..exactly what I was gonna ask.." Dante replied.

"O-oh, okay." Maya replied, feeling like she just humiliated herself. "What were you going to ask?"

"I was hoping that you could take Erza, Wendy and Lucy here shopping for clothes. They're a little new to this area, so I think someone with your experience would be of great help. Plus you're a girl as well, you know a lot more about women's clothing than I do." Dante explained.

Maya smiled and raised her fist in the air. "No problem!"

"That's great." he said with a smile, causing Maya to blush again. "I'll be taking Gray and Natsu here with me. Let's meet back up her in about an hour."

"**Right!**" the all spoke. Dante handed the brunette some money before they split off and went their separate ways for the time being. As Maya led the three female wizards (and Carla) to a clothing store nearby, she found herself staring at Erza's hair. Erza took notice.

"Is there something wrong, Maya?" the Titania asked.

The brunette quickly realized she was caught. "Oh, sorry, it's just your hair color. It's very beautiful." Maya replied, making Erza blush slightly. The brunette let out a sigh, catching the three girls attention. "So..what's the story with you guys and Dante? Are you guys from the States or outside the country?" she asked them curiously. The three wizards nervously looked at each other, trying to find something to say.

"Oh, we come from the East Coast, from New York." Lucy quickly responded. She was thankful that she read the book on the history of the United States before they left this morning. "We decided to come visit the West Coast, but something happened to the reservation in our hotel, so we got kicked out. Lucky for us, we ran into Dante who offered to house us for a while until we find another place to stay."

Erza and Wendy both looked at each other and gulped, wondering whether the brunette would believe their made up predicament.

"I see..that sounds like him alright." Maya sighed with a smile. "Always offering to help those in need.."

Erza decided it was her turn to ask. "Do you know a lot about Dante?"

Maya sighed before turning around to face them. "I actually met him recently, about three weeks ago, so I don't know too much about him either.." The three looked at the brunette.

"He saved me from a bunch of thugs who were trying to beat me and..rape me." the brunette continued, her voice a little hollow. "Before that, I would see him every so often when he'd come down to the market..I tried robbing him one time.." she said, feeling a little shameful.

The others just stared at her, not really understanding what she just said. "You tried stealing from him?" Lucy asked with a raised eyebrow.

Maya blushed with embarrassment. "Yea..I used to be a delinquent.." she sighed bitterly. "That time I tried robbing from him, he quickly caught me and twisted my arm behind my back. I thought he was a police officer, but he quickly let me go before he giving me some money..he said 'If you needed some money, you could have just asked.' When he said that, he smiled at me, but instead of thanking him, I called him an idiot for giving a thief money. He just waved good-bye to me and left. I didn't really think much of it.." She stopped for a moment. "Then, three weeks ago one night, I was making my way through an alley when I was attacked and grabbed by a group of thugs..they started molesting me and a few started to rip off my clothes..I screamed for someone to help me, but no cared..I was just a delinquent after all."

They could see that tears wear streaming down Maya's cheeks, the memory proving to be too painful for the brunette. "Maya-san, please, don't push yourself." Wendy assured her.

The brunette shook her head. "It's okay, really..as much as it hurts to remember, I think you guys should at least know. I'm not really sure why, but I get this strange vibe from you three..like I know I can trust you guys." Maya said with a smile. "If it wasn't for Dante showing up that night, I don't really know what would have happened. He helped change myself, even if he didn't realize it right away.."

* * *

**Flashback**

"Help, someone please help!" Maya screamed as the group of men who are holding down continued molesting her, one of them attempting to rip her clothing off. "Please!"

"Shut your mouth, bitch." One of the men grunted as he undid the button on Maya's jeans. The young girl started to cry, but one of the other men covered her mouth to keep her quiet. "We said shut up!"

Maya squeezed her eyes shut as she awaited the worse, but a loud yell caused the men to stop what they were doing as they turned around. They saw one of their 'friends' was laying on the ground unconscious. Maya slowly opened her eyes, only to see the figure of someone she immediately recognized. _'It's that guy I tried to rob last time! But..something's different about him.' _Maya looked at his face only to see a calm expression, but once she looked at his eyes, she froze. There was something burning in his eyes. Rage.

"Who the hell are you?" the leader said angrily.

"**Disgusting.**" The young man spoke calmly, without a hint of emotion in his voice. Maya flinched at his tone.

_'Is this really the same guy from before?'_

Before she could think of anything, the rest of the men quickly charged at the brown-haired boy. "**You're dead**!" they roared. Then Maya noticed it, it was for an instant, but she managed to catch a glimpse. _'Did I just see a blur?' _the brunette thought, wondering if her eyes were playing a trick on her. Suddenly, the other men fell to the floor, completely knocked out, even though the young man hadn't even moved from his standing position. She continued staring at them before the sound of the young man's footsteps alerted her to his approach. Maya was still scared, even though the others were down, she was still scared of the man who somehow took out seven other people without even lifting a finger. As he was withing a few feet of her, Maya quickly closed her eyes and covered her head with her arms. She was expecting to get hit, but instead she felt him put something on her. Maya opened her eyes to see that the man had covered her exposed body with his jacket. The brunette looked into his eyes only to see that the rage that they held before was now gone. They were gentle and warm.

"You should go to the clinic that's down the street from here." he quickly spoke. "Get yourself checked out for any injuries." The man finished and got up as he began walking away.

"Wait!" Maya cried out. "Who are you?"

The man stopped. "Dante." he replied.

"Why? Why did you help me?" she asked this time. "I'm a thief..I..I tried to steal from you before..so why?"

Dante sighed and turned to face the girl. "We're both human, aren't we?" he began. "Is it that unnatural for humans to help each other? If I was in trouble, would you help me, or would you walk away?"

Maya still didn't understand. "But.."

"It's true, not all people would help each other so willingly. There are also people like these who try to getting away with many horrible things. But.." Dante paused for a moment, before giving Maya a gentle smile. "..If I just ignored someone's cries for help, it wouldn't make me any different from them. I'd rather die protecting a stranger than go on living with my life knowing there was something I could have done."

The young man turned and walked away, leaving Maya to her thoughts. She felt tears start to stream down her cheeks as she covered herself tightly with Dante's jacket. For the first time since she was left on the streets to fend for herself, Maya felt happy. Happy someone actually gave a damn about her. She smiled as a single thought raced through her head.

_'I owe you one..Dante.'_

* * *

The three wizards watched silently as Maya grabbed her arm with her hand and looked at the ground, a smile slowly forming on her face. She suddenly felt two hands on her shoulders as she looked up to see Erza and Lucy.

"You're doing a great job Maya! Don't give up!" Lucy declared.

Erza nodded. "You're doing your best to make up for your mistakes and move on with your life."

"That's right! We know that whatever you do now, you'll definitely accomplish it! You have our support!" Wendy said with vigor.

Maya stared at them for a moment before she smiled again. "You guys..thank you.." she wiped her tears before regaining her composure. "I'm still wondering about something though. From what I've been told, Dante doesn't hang around with others. I've never seen him with any other people until today. I wonder why.."

Lucy and Wendy suddenly started feeling nervous.

"Huh, I wonder why that is?" Lucy replied sheepishly.

"Heh." The bluenette knew they were a special case. She began to wonder if Dante would eventually distance himself from her and the others at some point. Her thoughts drifted to last night when she and Dante were laughing and having fun. Wendy looked down at the small gift in her hand and wondered if it was just a parting gift from him to her and if eventually they wouldn't be friends anymore. She suddenly felt very sad at the thought for some reason, but couldn't figure out why. Wendy suddenly remembered the feeling she felt when she looked up at him that night, as well as what the woman they met earlier said to them. _'Am I starting to see Dante-san as a big brother? I've known him for less than a day..I haven't known him long enough to feel something like this for him..I guess I'll have to spend some more time with you, Dante-san, before the answer becomes clear to me. I want to know more about you..'_

Erza was also in deep thought. She knew why Dante was like this, remembering their talk from last night. The scarlet mage could see a part of herself in Dante. When Erza was younger, she used to avoid the other members of her guild and purposely placed armor around her heart so she wouldn't feel vulnerable. But Erza knew this was only partially true for Dante. From what she saw, he was genuinely kind and trust worthy towards other people. '_So why is Dante doing this to himself? He has a kind heart, yet he keeps his distance from other people..it doesn't make any sense..could he..could he be hiding something?'_

"Hellooo! Earth to Erza and Wendy!" Maya called out.

"Are you two okay?" Lucy asked, slightly worried.

The scarlet mage and bluenette quickly came back to reality. "Oh, forgive me..I was lost in thought. If it makes you feel better, then please hit me!" Erza yelled.

The brunette gave the red-head an odd look. "Is she always like this?" Maya whispered to Lucy.

"Most of the time, yes.." Lucy sighed.

Wendy couldn't help but laugh, their antics putting her mind at ease for the moment.

"Oh yea.." Lucy began. "I've been meaning to ask you, Wendy. What's in that box you've been carrying?"

The young Dragon Slayer looked at the box in her hand. "It's something Dante-san got for me as a gift." she replied with a faint smile.

Erza gave the young Dragon Slayer a soft look, while Maya started getting hyper. "Isn't Dante awesome, Wendy?" she cheered, making Wendy's smile grow.

_'He's an awesome person, alright..'_

They continued walking for a while before Maya stopped them. "We're here!" she said with excitement. The other three girls look up at a department store. "This place specializes in women's and young girls clothing, and they have a wide variety. I think we'll find a few things to your liking."

"Alright, Let's see what they got!" Lucy said, Maya's hyper personality was rubbing off on the blonde. Erza and Wendy both let out a giggle, while the brunette started jumping up and down.

"Let's go!"

* * *

At the other end of the city, Dante had brought Natsu and Gray to a different department store. The young man was now sitting patiently outside the changing rooms while the Dragon Slayer and Ice mage were trying on different clothing.

"Hm.." Dante thought as he sat on the bench with Happy sitting next to him. "I still need to go buy some groceries, or else there won't be anything for dinner tonight."

"Aye. We need to check out the fish they have too." Happy whispered, making Dante chuckle.

"Alright!" Natsu yelled as he exited the room.

Gray came out next. "Settle down flame brain."

Dante and Happy sighed as the two began to bicker again. "So, you guys find what you like?" the blue Exceed asked in alow voice.

Natsu turned and gave the two a grin. "Aye, sir!" he said.

"Yea, they're not exactly my taste, but they'll do." Gray said, not realizing he wasn't wearing anything but his underwear.

"You might want to make sure that you're going to keep them on." Dante pointed out.

"Oh crap, I forgot my clothes in the room!" the ice mage realized as he ran back inside.

Everyone just sweat dropped at Gray's habit. After finishing up and paying, the four of them spent the next half hour purchasing meat, fish, produce and other groceries. Along the way, Natsu was having a hard time keeping himself from beating the crap out of everyone who would tease him about his hair, not really understanding why pink was such an unnatural hair color in this world. Eventually, Gray and Dante had to hold him down when the Dragon Slayer couldn't take it anymore and threatened a group of teenage boys who said he looked cute with his hair color. They managed to cool him down with the offer of food.

"Man, these people piss me off!" Natsu yelled angrily.

Dante let out a sigh. "They don't know any better, some of them really think it's necessary to voice their opinions." he replied. They continued walking for a short while, when the raven-haired boy decided to ask something that's been on his mind.

"So what's the story between you and that Maya chick? She seemed pretty happy to see you." Gray asked.

"Aye." Happy added.

"Well, it's a long story.." Dante replied. He went on to explain how he helped Maya when a group of thugs were trying to violate her in an alley late in the night and all other details regarding the girl before the incident. "..That's what happened pretty much."

"Oh man, she's had it rough by the sound of it." the ice mage remarked. "It's a good thing you showed up when you did, or who knows what could have happened."

"Yea." the brown-haired boy replied. "She's a good person at heart, but she's pretty reckless and thick-headed most of the time."

"Sounds a lot like flame brain over here." Gray smirked.

Natsu popped a vein. "I'm nothing like that walking paint brush!" he roared.

Dante gave out a chuckle. After a while, they came to a stand that was selling grilled sandwiches. Dante ordered four (one was for Happy, which had fish in it) and they all sat down for a while to eat, while they talked about various things, one of the topics being Lucy, Wendy and Erza. "So, what's it like being on a team with Erza?" Dante had the urge to ask. Unfortunately, the look he got from Gray almost made him regret asking that. Almost.

"God, Erza.." Gray began. "I know she's our friend, but man she can be a monster sometimes! If you mess with her cake while she's eating it.." he shivered, unable to continue.

Natsu, surprisingly, had a grin on his face. "Yea, it's true that she can be scary as hell, but man is she strong! I can always count on her when thing's start looking rough." he suddenly stood up on the table. "That's why I'm gonna keep challenging her until I beat her!" Natsu yelled, scaring a few people around them.

"Settle down Natsu, before you give someone a heart attack." Dante sweat dropped. They continued talking for a while, when they suddenly started hearing some people yell. The four of them looked in the direction where the yells were coming, hoping to find out who or what was causing a commotion.

"Out of the way you flies!"

"Beat it grandma!"

"You looking at me, punk?"

Three people suddenly came into view, as they pushed and kicked anyone who was in their way. The tallest one, who was leading the other two, was bald with no eyebrows and light skin. He was wearing a black denim jacket with no shirt underneath, showing off his ripped body, while his lower wear consisted of leather biker pants and black shoes. The other two were on the other side of the spectrum. They were both twins with long, black hair and pale skin. They wore matching black suits, which gave them the appearance of being in the mob. Natsu and Gray looked at each other and then at their brown-haired friend, who let out a long sigh. "Great..it's those three.."

"Who are those guys?" the ice mage asked.

Dante's expression turned serious. "**Trouble**."

* * *

**A/N: I don't have much to say about this chapter, just that I'm trying my best not to rush it. I'm also glad I finished this one as well, since now I can focus on the next chapter of Love and Chaos. As always, let me know your thoughts on this chapter, and I hope everyone has a nice weekend. :3**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Blast of Wind

**A/N: Alright, it took some time, by I finally got this chapter done. I apologize to all those who were waiting patiently for this chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.**

**Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima.**

* * *

Dante cursed himself mentally. The morning had gone great so far, with a few mishaps here and there, but nothing that would seriously compromise the identity of his new friends. He had hoped that the rest of their trip to the market would go smoothly, but as fate would have it, the three boys (and an Exceed) would come across a small bump in the road.

_'Damn it, I really didn't see this coming..'_

Natsu narrowed his eyes on the three men who were causing a ruckus. "You said they were trouble?"

"Yea..they're a bunch of thugs who go around doing what they please and just being unpleasant towards everyone." Dante sighed.

"Hm, I don't see the problem here. All we really need to do is kick their asses, and they're gone, right?" Gray smirked.

The brown-haired boy shook his head. "If only it was that easy. See that bald guy in the middle? His father is the chief of the police department in this city, and because of that, he can get away with doing little things like this and if we try to stop them, I'm certain that man would convince his father to have us thrown in jail."

"Sounds like his old man is as big of an ass as he is." the pink haired boy remarked.

They continued watching the three men go on a rampage, before the two wizards realized that they were the next targets. The bald man gave a thuggish grin as he and his two lackeys made their way over to Dante and his group. Natsu and Gray readied themselves, but Dante motioned them to stand down.

"Well, well, well..if it isn't our old pal Dante." the bald man sneered.

Dante gave a small 'hm' as he stared back at the man. "Johnny.."

The man named Johnny grinned. "Is that really any way to greet your friends?"

"**Yea Dante, aren't we pals?**" the twins said in unison.

"I sure as hell wouldn't have any friends like you three." the brown-haired boy retorted. It was clear by his voice alone that he wanted nothing to do with these three punks.

Johnny quickly grabbed Dante by his collar, though the brown-haired boy's gaze neither flinched nor wavered. "What was that, you damn insect?" the bald man replied angrily.

Dante 's expression remained serious. "I'm pretty sure you heard me." he replied calmly.

The bald man scowled at him. "It's little smartasses like you that piss me off. You think you're being clever or something, kid? You think you're a genius?"

"Don't remember saying I was." the brown-haired boy countered. Dante suddenly took a punch to the face as he reeled back slightly, quickly recovering as he stared back at Johnny, refusing to fight back. Natsu and Gray quickly came to his side, ready to give him a hand incase things turned ugly.

"Ah, look, his little buddies are coming to his aid." Johnny grinned. "I've got pals too, you know.." The two twins quickly jumped to the bald man's side. Pedestrians and shop keepers watched the two groups nervously, knowing that only trouble will result if they begin to fight. "**Bring it Dante**."

"I'm not going to fight you." Dante said abruptly, suprising everyone, including said person. "I have nothing to gain from fighting you."

Natsu gritted his teeth. "Bu-"

"Natsu, that's enough." Gray cut in. "We're drawing way too much attention to ourselves, we can't fight here unless you want the authorities to show up." the ice mage whispered.

The pink haired mage relented as he stood down, though he continued to glare daggers at the man for what he did moments ago to Dante. "Fine." he growled.

Johnny sighed and shook his head. "Such a pacifist, Dante. I never pictured you as a coward."

"Like hell he is!" Natsu roared, suprising everyone. "Even though he ain't fighting back, he's still standing up to your sorry ass!"

Gray smirked. "You got that right."

Johnny was now grinding his teeth in frustration. He couldn't stand it, these three people were standing up to him without even throwing a single punch. He was angry, he wanted to beat this three to a bloody pulp, but he decided he was going to have as much fun as he could before he would get to the finale. "Bah, suit yourselves. But don't think this is over. Till next time, flies.." Johnny said coldly before he walked away, his two lackeys following suit. '_I'm gonna have fun with this..'_

Dante let out a sigh of relief. "That was annoying.."

"Bastard reminds of or Erigor." Gray remarked.

"I wouldn't doubt it." the brown-haired boy replied.

Natsu felt a vein pop out on his forehead. "That's it, next time I'm kicking his ass no matter what you tell me!" he roared.

Happy shook his head at Natsu's thick head, knowing that only problems awaited them in the near future. Gray smacked the dragon slayer upside the head while Dante smiled slightly. It was good to know that they had his back.

"Well, we should get going, the girls are probably waiting for us." Dante said as he rubbed his cheek. _'This is probably going to swell in a bit.'_ he sighed inwardly.

Happy quickly climbed up on the young man's shoulder while the two rivals began to bicker as they followed along. Dante shrugged and figured it was better to leave them be, no sense getting himself mixed up with those two. They walked a good ways before they found themselves where they were going to meet up with the girls. They saw that they still hadn't arrived yet, and decided to wait for them in the meantime. Dante reached into his pants pocket and found that he had his iPod with him. _'Huh? I could have sworn Erza had this before we came here.' _he thought curiously. _'Oh well, I guess I'll listen to some music in the meantime.'_ Dante quickly threw on his headphones and listened to _Savior_ by _Rise Against_, one of his favorite songs. He watched with a smile as Natsu and Gray were having an arm wrestling match while Happy sat there eating a small sardine he had gotten from one of the bags. Dante wouldn't admit it, but he was amused by Natsu and Gray's rivalry as he laughed when the they smacked their heads together trying to weaken the other, only to knock themselves out. After scrolling through his entire playlist on his device, Dante took his headphones off just as he heard a loud thud. He turned to see a little girl with orange hair wearing a small white dress laying down face first on the floor. _'She must have tripped.'_

"Owee.." the young girl groaned.

Dante walked over and helped her up. "Are you alright?" he asked.

The girl dusted herself off before looking up at Dante and giving him a nod. "I am. Thank you mister." she replied before running off. Dante watched the little girl as she ran up to a boy who seemed a few years older than her. "Big brother!" she yelled as she jumped into her brother's arms.

The older sibling scolded her. "Lily, how many times did I tell you not to run off like that? You know how mad mom gets at me when you wander around without me."

"I'm sorry.." the little girl frowned.

Her brother sighed before ruffling her hair and giving her a grin. "Come on, let's go eat, you're probably hungry from running around all over the place."

Lily's face lit up as she hugged her brother tightly. "Thank you big brother! You're the best!"

Dante smiled at the sight, one of the many he's seen for as long as he could remember. People and their families going out together, laughing and just having a good time. He only knew what it was like to have a family for a short period of time. He became lost in his thoughts as he drowned out everything that was going on around him._ 'A family..I guess that's why I like reading Fairy Tail so much..everyone in that book suffered from something in their past, yet they all came together to overcome those hardships..' _The brown-haired young man let out a long sigh, unaware of a certain blue haired little girl who was trying to get his attention.

"Dante-san?" Wendy asked curiously as she tilted her head. She could see that far away look in the young man's eyes. "Are you okay?"

Dante's thoughts were interrupted as all the noise from before became audible to his ears once again. "Huh?" he blinked, his brain still not registering what was happening at the moment. Dante turned to see Wendy looking at him slightly worried. "Oh, Wendy..sorry about that. I spaced out for a bit." he apologized.

"You had us worried for a bit there, Dante." Erza spoke as he looked to see that all the girls had arrived with multiple bags, noticing that red-head had the most bags with her.

"I see you all found clothing that you liked." Dante sweat dropped.

Maya quickly jumped out from behind the scarlet mage. "Yup! They all liked what they found. We also stopped by a bookstore so Lucy could check them out, but I was surprised when Erza bought a couple of dir-"

"A-anyways." Erza cut the brunette off. "I think we should all head back, my arms are getting tired from carrying all this stuff."

Dante raised an eyebrow. Erza, **_the_** Erza Scarlet tired out from holding a few simple bags of clothing? Something wasn't adding up. He looked over at Lucy and Wendy who both sighed nervously. Before he could say anything, Erza dropped her bags and got right into Dante's face.

"Um, Erza, what are you doing?" he asked, feeling a little bit uncomfortable at her closeness.

The red-head neglected to respond as she stared at his cheek.

Dante took notice and rubbed his cheek, feeling a slight pain. _'Damn, I was hoping it wouldn't swell too much.' _he sighed inwardly.

"What happened to your cheek?" Erza finally spoke.

"Oh, this. Some guy punched me." he replied honestly, trying to brush it off. The girls all looked him quizzically. "Don't worry, I didn't get into a fight or anything." Dante raised his hands.

Erza let out a sigh. "I see. If I hadn't been going around checking out clothes, this never would have happened. Please, if it makes you feel better, hit me!" she said as everyone sweat dropped. Dante decided to pretend that he didn't hear that. "But why did he punch you?" she said after a moment.

The brown-haired boy sighed. "Because he wanted to start a fight with me."

Upon hearing this, Maya quickly spoke up. "It was Johnny again, wasn't it?"

Dante looked at the brunette and nodded. "Yea, it was him."

"Figures." Maya replied.

Erza was now curious about this Johnny person. "Who's Johnny?"

Dante and Maya both explained who he was and how much of an asshole he could be. Apparently, the man also tried to hit on Maya a few times, being rather aggressive though she managed to brush him off each time. "He doesn't like Dante for some reason." the brunette finished.

"Why's that?" the scarlet mage questioned curiously.

"When I first saw him, he was going around causing trouble in the market and hitting on all the woman. I told him to knock it off, and he's held a grudge against me ever since." Dante replied.

"It's probably because you were the first person to stand up to him." Maya cut in. "Before, no one would even dare to speak back to him because of his connection to his father."

Erza crossed her arms. "As much trouble as it might have caused, I think you did the right thing, Dante. I doesn't matter how big or strong someone is, the most important thing is standing up to them."

Dante looked at Erza and smiled. "You're right."

"I will also have to teach him a lesson in proper etiquette.." the red-head added with an evil grin.

"Uh, yea, sure.." Dante said nervously.

"Well, I hate to leave so soon, but I have to get going." Maya interrupted. "It was nice meeting all of you! Lucy, Erza, Wendy, thanks again! See you later Dante!" she waved at them as she ran off.

"I think its time we head back as well." the young man added. "It's almost lunch time, don't know about you guys, but I'm starving."

"I wonder how well you cook, Dante." Lucy asked before teasing him a little. "You know what they say about men who can cook really well. They get all the women!"

Dante raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms. "Do you really take me as that kind of guy?"

The blonde paled slightly. "I was just kidding, you know, I-"

"This is why she can't get a boyfriend." Erza cut in as she and Dante nodded.

"Not you too!" the blonde replied dramatically. "Gah! Wendy! You believe I'll find a boyfriend pretty soon, right?"

The young dragon slayer looked at Lucy for a bit before smiling sweetly. "Good luck?"

As Lucy suffered another blow to her self-esteem, the two Exceeds couldn't help bit exchange giggles. They all got their things ready for the trip back before finally noticing the two rivals on the floor, both unconscious.

"What happened to those two?"

"Oh, that." Dante smirked. "Let's just say they decided to use their heads."

* * *

Once home, Dante started preparing a meal for everyone. While he was doing that, the three girls all went upstairs to change into one of their new outfits (and for Erza to hide her mystery purchases). The two rivals went back to reading their respective mangas after regaining consciousness, while the two Exceeds decided to give Dante a hand.

_'I wonder what Erza bought that she didn't want the rest of us to find out?'_ Dante wondered as he began to boil some water in a pot.

"Pasta, huh?" Carla quipped as she watched the young man dump some noodles in the pot. "Been a while since I had anything like that in Earthland."

"Yea, I think some alfredo chicken would be nice." Dante replied.

Happy started drooling a little. "Think you can put some fish in for me?" he asked.

The brown-haired boy smiled. "Of course. Can you pass me the salt, Carla?"

The white Exceed grabbed a small container and handed it to the young man. "At least it seems the food here is the same as back home." she remarked. The two Exceeds sat on the counter as they watched Dante cut up some vegetables. A thought started plaguing Carla as she recalled the conversation that Maya, the young brunette, had with the other three girls. "Can I ask you something?" the white Exceed asked.

"Sure." he replied.

"Why are you weary of people?" Carla asked.

Dante didn't reply at first. After a few seconds, he sighed. "Maya, huh?" he turned to the white Exceed, who nodded. "It's because.." Dante hesitated for a moment. "..I don't want them to get hurt because of me."

Carla stared at him for a moment. "Why is that?" she questioned.

Dante froze, as random voices from the past quickly filled his head.

"..."

_'Hi, I'm Anna, what's your name?'_

"..."

_'You've gotten in my way for the last time!'_

"..."

_'What are you fighting for?'_

"..."

_'I-I know..why you're..a-always alone..why you stay away from people.'_

"..."

"Dante?" Happy said worryingly.

The young man quickly shook his head. "Sorry, I just..remembered something, is all." he replied.

Carla studied the boy for a moment, before deciding it was best to say nothing for now. _'That look he had just a moment ago..he seemed..uncomfortable. He hasn't said much about himself now that I think about it, though I'm sure he's got a good reason for that. Hopefully he will tell us in due time.'_

"Dante-san!" Wendy cut Carla from her thoughts abruptly. The trio turned to see the young girl, Lucy and Erza standing in their new outfits. Wendy was wearing a small straw hat (the kind little girls wear when going out during the summer to pick flowers) with a white ribbon hanging from the side of it along with a white and red sun-dress reminiscent of her usual one, and to finish her attire she wore a new pair of brown sandals. She had a light blush on her cheeks as she twirled around a bit. Lucy was up next, wearing a blue tank top and a pair of blue denim shorts, along with a pair of white sneakers. Finally came Erza, who wore a grey, slightly baggy hooded sweater along with a pair of black denim jeans and black sneakers. "W-what do you think?" Wendy asked nervously.

Dante smiled slightly. "You all look great." he replied, making the little girl giggle.

"Aye!" Happy chirped.

The brown-haired boy was glad for the distraction, his mind slightly more at ease after remembering those voices. Dante looked down at his hand as he slowly made it into a fist, an act that didn't go unnoticed by Erza or Wendy. _'There's no sense dwelling on the past, I've already moved on from that..I know that **she** wanted me to be happy, and I am..but ever since Natsu, Erza and the others showed up, I've been feeling strange..I've been feeling happier than usual..is this what it's like to have a siblings?' _he thought as his lips formed into a smile. _'It'll be painful to see them leave, for sure, but they also have their own family waiting back at home, who are all probably worried sick about them. They have to go back..to Fairy Tail.' _Dante suddenly felt a tug at his shirt, looking down to see Wendy staring back at him with cute brown eyes.

"Do you think we can go explore the forest a bit more after we have lunch?" she asked in a cute voice. The look on Wendy's face, along with her attire, made it impossible for Dante to even consider saying 'no.'

_'This little girl is way too cute, its scary. I think she could even bring a battle hardened combat veteran to his knees just by looking at him.' _he joked inwardly. "Sure Wendy, I don't see why not." he replied with a smile.

Wendy replied with a huge smile. "Thank you!"

The others laughed while a certain red-head smiled. _'It really is interesting watching those two interact. If I didn't know Wendy, I'd almost mistake her for Dante's little sister.' _Erza thought. _"Speaking of siblings, where are Natsu and Gray?'_

There was a loud thud as everyone turned around to see the two rivals fighting over something, as usual. Closer inspection revealed that they were fighting over the television remote.

"Give it up ice freak! You already watched your show!" Natsu growled as he punched Gray in the gut.

"As if charcoal breath, my show isn't over yet!" Gray retorted, as he threw an uppercut at the dragon wizard. Soon enough, the fight quickly escalated to the point that both wizards began to use magic, but thanks to the timely intervention of Titania, mass destruction was averted. The scarlet mage quickly smacked their heads together, knocking them out for the moment.

"It's a good thing their heads are as thick as stone." Lucy commented. "They would've been dead long ago if it wasn't for that."

"Aye!" Happy quipped.

Wendy looked at the two wizards with worry in her eyes, while Dante stared at a few things that good destroyed in the process. _'Well, they are still wizards regardless of the situation. I should expect a few sacrifices in the near future.'_ he sighed inwardly.

* * *

After a quick lunch, Dante brought Wendy with him to go explore the forest while the others remained behind to come up with some ideas on how to get back to Earthland, seeing as they weren't making much progress at the moment. They travelled for a good distance, before realizing that they were now deep in the forest as there was thicker vegetation. The petite dragon slayer was surprisingly excited, though this more of the fact that Dante mentioned there was a secret location that he visited every once in a while. Wendy's excitement died down a little, as her memories of the time she spent with her foster parent slowly came back to her.

"This forest really does remind me of Grandine.." Wendy said with a sad smile.

Dante frowned slightly seeing her sad like that. "What was it like living with her?" he asked thoughtfully.

"Ah..she was very kind and loving, just being around her made me feel so warm inside..I felt like I was safe." she replied, her lips curving into more happy smile. "I learned a lot of things from her aside from her magic. Even though she is a dragon and I am a human, she will always be my mother, always."

"I see." he replied. "That's a good outlook to have. I'm sure you will meet her again."

The two of them were now walking along a small stream, as two deer several feet away slowly looked up at Dante and Wendy. The animals and the people stared back at each other for a moment. No one moved a muscle, but after a few more minutes of staring, the two deer started crossing the small stream before disappearing into the forest.

"I always tell myself that I'll find her, but.." Wendy paused for a moment.

"No buts." Dante said sternly, suprising the young girl. "You should have more faith in yourself, Wendy." he went on, his voice a little softer. "If you start doubting yourself, it will only hinder your progress. The harder it is to find something, the harder you should try looking for it, because it will all be worth it in the end."

Wendy looked up at him after saying those reassuring words. She could see why he seemed so much like an older sibling. He was thoughtful, he treated her kindly and he was giving her advice to use on her quest to find Grandine. Wendy decided it was her turn to ask questions. "What about you Dante? What about your parents?"

"My parents, huh.." Dante thought for a moment. "I don't really know anything about them, I was orphaned since I could remember. Although..there was someone who I looked up to as a mother."

The young dragon slayer tilted her head curiously. "Who was she?"

"She was a strong woman, very independent and she was a very warm person to be around, though if you got on her bad side, oh man.." he chuckled before continuing. "For the short while I knew her, she gave me a home and clothing. She was also the person who gave me my name."

Wendy's eyes widened slightly. "What was her name?"

Dante smirked. "_Maria Guadalupe._"

"Spanish?" the little girl asked, noticing the sudden change in his voice. "You're bilingual?"

"Yup. I grew up in a country south of this one, called Mexico. Spanish is my first language, though I learned English alongside it afterwards." he answered. "Because of that, I have almost no accent in my second language, which confuses a lot of people when they hear me speak switch between the two."

Wendy nodded her head. She had heard that language before on a job, but she never would have expected that the same language would exist in this world. _'There really is some kind of connection between this world and Earthland.'_

"Anyways.." Dante went on. "After living with her for a few months, I was sent here."

"How come?" the petite girl asked, confused. "Why did she send you here when you had a home over there?"

Dante sighed as he stared into the stream, the water gently flowing across the rocks at the bottom. "She wanted a better life for me." he explained. "There are many more opportunities here in this country than over there, mainly because of the corrupt politicians in that country's government, as well as the criminal organizations who are fighting for control. She didn't want me to experience the violence that was happening throughout that country, I was eleven at the time." Another memory came to him again, though this this time he remembered the entire scene.

"..."

_"Maria, I'm back." a little Dante said as he walked through a small metal gate._

_"Mijo (child), how man times have I told you? Me puedes llamar 'Mama' o 'Madre (You can call me 'Mama' or 'Mother')." a woman in her thirties with light brown hair appeared, quickly scolding him._

_The young boy crossed his arms and pouted. "No te entiendo a vaces (I don't understand you sometimes). But fine, I'll call you that, **Mother**."_

_"Hey, watch your mouth. No debes que hablar a tu mama asi (You shouldn't be speaking to your mother that way)." the woman scolded him again._

_"Alright, alright, I'm sorry.." Dante said as he looked down at the ground._

_The woman's expression softened. "Its okay Dante, just keep that in mind. Did you get everything I asked of you from Don Francisco?"_

_Dante looked up as he handed Maria two bags. "Si, traje todo (Yes, I brought everything). He's really nice, he even gave me a small discount. I think he likes you, though.." he snickered._

_A vein popped on Maria's forehead. "Hah! Ese viejito no mas le gusta las chicas jovenes (That old man only likes young women). Anyways, let's get lunch ready, you must be hungry, huh mijo?"_

_The young boy smiled as he threw his hands in the air. "Orale (Alright)! I'm starving!"_

"..."

Wendy could see the soft smile on Dante's face, before noticing a single tear slide down his cheek. She quickly began panicking, flailing her arms in the air. "I-I'm sorry Dante for making remember something so sad and making you cry!"

Dante quickly came to his senses as he wiped the tear with his before staring at it, before looking at the flailing little girl next to him. His lips formed into a smile as the little girl continued panicking for something she thought she was the cause of.

"It's alright Wendy, it wasn't something sad that I remembered, it was a very happy memory." he assured her.

The petite little girl stopped as she looked back up. Again, that warm smile she saw before that gave Wendy a warm feeling inside appeared again. "O-okay Dante-san.."

They continued walking deeper into the forest, before they came to a large clearing. Wendy's eyes grew wide as she stared at a vast hillside lush with flowers and other plants, a smile now plastered across her face. Dante could see her expression from the lower corner of his eye as he smirked slightly. _'She's got that same look I had when I first found this place.' _he chuckled inwardly. "Its beautiful, isn't?"

Wendy nodded her head. "It's so lovely!" she squealed as she ran towards the center, picking up different flowers as she went along.

"I have a lot of memories in this place, its like my own getaway." Dante explained as he watched Wendy gather a large bouquet of flowers. A strong wind blew from behind him, a wind that felt so unnatural yet strangely warm that Dante found himself spinning around frantically, expecting to see someone or something behind him. Brown eyes scanned the forest for traces of life, but found nothing. _'What was that wind? It felt..fierce, and at the same time..gentle..' _he pondered.

"Is everything alright, Dante-san?" the petite dragon slayer asked curiously.

Dante quickly realized that he probably looked he was paranoid. Truth be told, he was. "Everything's fine Wendy, just thought I saw someone sneaking around." he said sheepishly.

Wendy looked at him for a moment before nodding her head and going back to picking more flowers. "Will you still remember me as a friend once I leave with the others, or will you forget about me?" she asked suddenly.

"Of course I'll remember you. Why would you even think that?" he replied, a little curious as to why she asked such a question.

"It's because..well, when we were talking to Maya after we split up, she said that she wondered why you would never get close to anyone, even though you're really kind and caring." Wendy paused and took a deep breath. "I just couldn't help but think that you would eventually forget me, and for some reason, it made me really sad.." Wendy was on her knees now, staring at all the flowers in her hands.

Dante stood there for a moment to take in what was just said, before he gave a small chuckle. "Kids your age sure think about a lot of complicated stuff." he said as he walked over and sat down next to her, looking up at the clouded sky. "But everyone worries about something..friends, family, the world..even kids have the right to worry."

The sun suddenly pierced through the clouds, its warm rays gently caressing the hillside as Wendy stared up at the sky. _'Wow, it's so pretty_._'_

"I won't forget about you or the others." Dante said with resolve in his voice. "For as long as I live."

"Is that a promise?" the petite dragon slayer asked as she looked at the brown-haired boy with cuteness gushing from her eyes. Dante couldn't help but chuckle. "Dante-san?"

"Yes Wendy, that's a promise." he replied with a soft expression.

Wendy found herself unable to stop smiling as she stared back up at the sky.

_'She really is an innocent child, her eyes say it all. I'm sure you must be proud of her, Grandine.' _Dante thought. A strange feeling and need to protect overcame him for some reason. Dante looked at the little girl from the corner of his eye. He had only known her for less than a day, and yet he had this strange feeling inside that tugged at him. Dante shook the thought away and figured it was because he never had any siblings before and this was the first time he was around someone younger than he was. Leaving it at that, he decided to lay down on the grass and relax as the clouds moved overhead.

_'Well, answers never come easy, the world would be boring if you could figure out everything in a second.'_

* * *

"They're still not back?" Carla huffed worriedly. Dante and Wendy were gone for several hours now and have yet to return. "What if something happened ot the two of them? What if that Johnny person found them an-"

"For the last time, Carla, calm down." Erza assured the white Exceed. "Wendy is a Dragon Slayer, remember? I'm sure Dante can also take care of himself." The scarlet mage wouldn't show it, but she was just as worried as Carla.

Lucy sighed as she sat on the couch reading one of her new books. "You need to have more faith in Wendy, Carla, I'm sure they're both fine."

Natsu quickly stood up. "I'm going to go look for them." he said as he walked towards the door.

"I'm coming with you." Gray added as he got up as well. Before either of them could get to the door, the knob slowly turned and opened, revealing the two missing people. "See? They're back." the ice mage smirked.

"Wendy!" Carla yelled seeing that Dante was carrying her partner on his back. "Is she alright?"

Dante motioned the white Exceed to lower her voice. "Wendy's fine, she got really tired on our way here, so I carried her on my back. She fell asleep some time after that."

"Did something happen?" Erza asked, relieved that the two were unharmed. She also noticed the smile that the little girl had.

"We just lost track of time, plus she was having a lot of fun running around and picking flowers." he walked over to the couch and laid the little girl down before he pulled the bouquet of flowers Wendy had made. "She put a lot of effort picking these, so I figured I'd bring them back." Erza watched as Dante walked over to the small table in the living room and place the flowers in a vase that was underneath the table. "So did you guys figure out anything?" he asked,

"Nothing." Lucy replied flatly. "It doesn't help that we're also stuck with these two idiots." the blonde pointed at Natsu and Gray.

"**HEY!**" the two rivals shouted in unison, while the others smiled or smirked.

"Though it's true, we're officially stumped on how to get back." Erza added.

Dante thought for a moment. "What about the dark mage who sent you here? Did he come with you guys too?" he questioned.

The group turned and looked at each other before looking back at Dante. "No, he wasn't with us when that happened." Gray responded.

"Well, that rules out him being here. He would be the only one who could probably send you all back." he said.

A wave of silence overcame them as each person was lost in their own thoughts, after a while, no one had really come up with anything.

"Well I'm lost." Lucy spoke.

"Same here." Erza added.

"I've got nothing." Natsu nodded.

Gray smirked. "Since when do you have anything?"

A vein popped on Natsu's forehead. "What was that Mr. Gloomy?"

"It's on now Lizard Brain!"

*CRACK*

Again, swift justice was brought down on those who would dare become unruly in the presence of Titania.

"You know, I'm surprised they haven't gotten amnesia from all those times they've been hit." Lucy sweat dropped.

Dante let out a sigh. "They wouldn't be wizards if they did so easily."

"By the way, Dante.." Erza began. "What are these?"

The said person looked to see that the red-head was holding several DVD cases. "Oh, those are Digital Video Discs. They are movies you can watch on a DVD player." he said, pointing at the small rectangular box under his television.

"A-amazing.." Erza replied, her eyes becoming cat-like. "Can we watch some?"

"Sure, let me take Wendy upstairs to her room and I'll get it set up. In the meantime, you guys choose a movie to watch." he said. Dante stood up and picked up Wendy in his arms as he walked up stairs. He paused for a moment, hearing the others debate what movie they would want to watch.

"Oh, this one's about werewolves and vampires."

"This one is about fish!"

"A samurai's entire family killed and goes on a journey seeking revenge? I. Must. See. It."

"OOOH! This one is about a giant monster that shoots fire from its mouth!"

"Oi, is it Igneel?"

"Yea, in this world Igneel is an actor who stars in his own movie. Idiot."

Stifling the laughs trying to escape his throat, Dante went back upstairs and set Wendy on her bed. He came back only to find that the six of them were now arguing about who wanted to see what. Sighing, he went over to see that all his DVD movies were laid out on the floor, Natsu and the others standing around them in a circle formation. "Still haven't figured it out yet?" he asked. Ignoring the shouts he got in return, he noticed that they forgot one DVD on his shelf. Dante walked over and grabbed it, realizing it was a movie about a kid who is haunted by ghosts. A grin crept across his face. "How about this one?" he said as he showed them the movie.

"What is it about?" the celestial mage asked curiously.

"Ghosts and spirits." At the mention of the first word, Erza began to tremble uncontrollably.

"G-g-g-g-ghost?!" the red-head shuddered.

Natsu and Gray both grinned. "Scared of a ghost movie, Erza?" Natsu teased.

"I would never imagine you would scared of something like this." The ice mage shook his head in disappointment.

Erza's spirit suddenly flared up. "Fine! I'll watch this stupid movie and I'll make you two sorry you ever said that!" she roared.

"**AYE!**" The two rivals yelled in fear.

"Wow, didn't think Happy number two would make an appearance here.." Lucy mumbled.

Dante smirked as everyone took a seat; Erza and Lucy sat on the couch, while Natsu opted for sitting cross-legged on the floor, and Gray simply laid down with his chin resting on his hand. Once he put the DVD in, the movie started, and while the others watched curiously at the movie's intro, Dante couldn't help but grin slyly.

_'This should be fun.'_

* * *

**A/N: Well, there you go, as you guys can figure, the next chapter will be movie night! I would have had this up yesterday, but again..something happened and I couldn't concentrate. But alas, things are moving a bit smoother now, so I'll try to update as soon as I can. Welp, let me know your thoughts as always, and I'll see ya next chapter. :3**


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